When you want advice on writing a book, it pays to get it from someone who has done it before. Jenkins has penned over 190 books (not a misprint!) and reached the NYT bestseller list 21 times. That’s someone you need to listen to. Much of what he has to say is not new – … Read more
The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan, published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in 2011. Strange how you don’t plan to read a book but it draws you in to its inner world and consumes your time. Intrigued by the cover and the title of this book, I took it off the shelf to flip through. … Read more
Grassroots Writers Festival Grassroots Writers? Imagine a writers event where there are no talking heads spruiking about their just-published book. Imagine a weekend devoted to the craft and practice of writing, facilitated by local writers who may or may not be published. A sharing of knowledge and the love of writing, wrapped up in a … Read more
Writing advice is everywhere: good writing advice from people who have actually been in the trenches is the kind you want to pay attention to. I first came across Kayte Dunn as a presenter at the 2019 Byron Bay Writers Festival. Kayte ran a half-day workshop targeted at commercial and historical fiction – areas of … Read more
My Daily Word Count I’ve got to admit I wasn’t good at keeping to a daily word count or writing morning pages or anything that smacked of discipline. I was one of those who waited for the Muse to take me into a creative flow. Trouble was, The Muse didn’t have my address. As a … Read more
It’s a cruel business, this writing thing. Just when you feel elated and broadly satisfied that you’ve completed your work of brilliance, you realise that it’s not over. In fact, the hard work now begins. Editing is as important as the creative juice flowing over time. There are two main aspects to editing. the Actual … Read more